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Sweet Grass County Long Range Plan 2019

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Sweet Grass County Long Range Plan 2019 MONTANA Focused Conservation SWEET GRASS COUNTY LONG-RANGE PLAN December 2019 1 Table of Contents Section I – Introduction……………………………………………………………………5 Section II – Natural Resources Inventory………………………………………………5 Humans………………………………………………………………………………5 General………………………………………………………………………5 History………………………………………………………………………..5 Land Cover/Land Use………………………………………………………7 Land Ownership……………………………………………………………..8 Demographics……………………………………………………………….8 Agricultural Profile…………………………………………………………..9 Physiography/Drainage…………………………………………………………...9 Geology/Soils………………………………………………………………………10 Climate………………………………………………………………………………10 Water…………………………………………………………………………………11 General………………………………………………………………………11 Irrigation……………………………………………………………………..11 Livestock Water……………………………………………………………..12 Water Quality………………………………………………………………..13 Air and Energy……………………………………………………………………...14 Non-attainment and Maintenance Areas for Air Quality Standards……14 Visibility Standards………………………………………………………….14 Utility/Power Company Coverage…………………………………………15 Wind…………………………………………………………………………..15 Plants…………………………………………………………………………………15 General……………………………………………………………………….15 Rangeland……………………………………………………………………15 Introduced Species Pasture………………………………………………..16 Riparian Areas……………………………………………………………….16 Forest…………………………………………………………………………16 Sensitive or Declining Plant Communities………………………………..17 Invasive Species…………………………………………………………….17 Animals……………………………………………………………………………….17 Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs)……………………………………….17 Fish……………………………………………………………………………18 Wildlife………………………………………………………………………...18 Diseases in Wildlife………………………………………………………….19 Threatened & Endangered Species and Species of Concern………….20 2 Section III – Conservation Activity Analysis……………………………………………21 Natural Resources Conservation Service………………………………...21 Sweet Grass Conservation District………………………………………...22 Boulder River Watershed Association…………………………………….23 Yellowstone River Conservation District Council………………………...24 Sweet Grass County Noxious Weed Program……………………………25 Montana State University Extension………………………………………25 Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks…………………………...25 Montana Department of Environmental Quality………………………….26 Farm Services Agency………………………………………………………26 Section IV – Natural Resource Problems and Desired Future Outcomes………...26 Rangeland Health……………………………………………………………26 Riparian Area Health………………………………………………………..26 Drought……………………………………………………………………….27 Irrigation Inefficiency………………………………………………………...27 Stream Dewatering………………………………………………………….28 Forest Health………………………………………………………………...28 Conifer Encroachment………………………………………………………29 Noxious/Invasive Species…………………………………………………..29 AFO/CAFOs With Direct Access to Streams or Ditches………………...29 Section V – Prioritization of Natural Resource Problems and Desired Outcomes…………………………………………………………………………….30 Section VI – Targeted Implementation Plans (TIPs) and Investment Portfolios…31 Cayuse Hills Drought Resistance & Resilience………………………….31 Yellowstone River North Tributaries Riparian Area Improvement…..…32 Conifer Encroachment on Rangeland..……………………………………32 Yellowstone River Tributaries Irrigation Efficiency……………………… 33 AFO/CAFO Treatments in Sweet Grass County…………………………33 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………...34 Sweet Grass County Map…………………………………………………..35 Public Lands in Sweet Grass County……………………………………..36 Precipitation Zones in Sweet Grass County……………………………...37 Prime and Important Soils in Sweet Grass County………………………38 Forest, Irrigated and Non-irrigated Hay Lands in Sweet Grass Cnty…..39 10-Digit Hydrologic Unit Codes in Sweet Grass County………………...40 Dewatered Stream Reaches in Sweet Grass County……………………41 Greater Sage-grouse Habitat in Sweet Grass County…………………..42 Endangered, Threatened, Proposed, and Candidate Species for Sweet Grass County………………………………………………..43 Canada Lynx Designated Critical Habitat in Sweet Grass County……..44 Animal Species of Concern (SOC) for Sweet Grass County……………45 Plant Species of Concern (SOC) for Sweet Grass County……………..46 Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zones in Montana…………….47 Brucellosis Designated Surveillance Area………………………………..48 3 Appendix (continued) Russian Olive in Sweet Grass County…………………………………….49 Wind Power Potential in Sweet Grass County…………………………...50 NRCS Program Participation in Sweet Grass County 2008-2018……..51 4 Section I – Introduction Vision – Shared responsibility and commitment to local action achieves effective land stewardship. Mission – To build alliances and strategically invest to effectively solve natural resource problems in Sweet Grass County, Montana. Purpose – The purpose of this plan is to create a working document that describes the natural resources of Sweet Grass County, identifies resource problems as they currently exist, and prioritizes projects for USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) technical and financial assistance to private landowners. This plan documents locally-identified resource issues and prioritizes the most critical ones in Sweet Grass County for work. These issues are identified through the Local Working Group (LWG) by annually gathering input from local stakeholders and partner organizations. It is a “living” document that will be reviewed annually and revised to reflect current resource concerns. Time Frame – It is envisioned that this plan will be applicable for approximately 5 years, with annual edits completed as relevant information is obtained. Contributors – Thanks are extended to the many parties who contributed to the creation of this document, including Sweet Grass County Conservation District (SGCD), Sweet Grass County Weed Department, Montana State University Extension Service, Boulder River Watershed Association (BRWA), Yellowstone River Conservation District Council (YRCDC), Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP), Forest Service (USFS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and NRCS. Section II – Natural Resources Inventory A – Humans 1 – General. Sweet Grass County is in the Upper Yellowstone River region of southcentral Montana, due north of Yellowstone National Park. It was first established in 1895, formed out of parts of Park, Meagher, and Yellowstone Counties, and was named after Sweet Grass Creek. From 1910 to 1920, parts of Sweet Grass County were taken to form Stillwater, Wheatland and Golden Valley Counties. It has been its present size since 1920. Neighboring counties include Park, Meagher, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and Stillwater. It is nearly 1,192,000 acres in size and land ownership is private, federal (which is mostly National Forest, but including some minimal BLM), and state (see Table 1, below, and Appendix, Figures 3 and 4). 2 – History. Native Americans lived in this area before people of European descent arrived. In the late 1600’s, the Crow moved into the area. By the mid- 1700’s, several tribes used this area, primarily the Crow, but also the Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Shoshone, and Sioux. The Crazy Mountains are considered sacred by the Crow, who call them the Snow-Capped or Ominous Mountains. Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow tribe sought a vision atop Crazy 5 Peak, and seasonally camped on Porcupine Butte in the northwest part of the county. Native Americans in the region viewed this area as favored hunting grounds, possibly due to the wintertime “Chinook” winds that frequent the Upper Yellowstone region. The warm winds blow and melt snow off grasslands, providing winter forage for wildlife, resulting in large populations of deer, elk, antelope, and bison. French fur traders and the Lewis and Clark Expedition were the first known visitors of European descent to the area. In 1806, on his return from the Pacific Coast, Captain William Clark camped along the Yellowstone River near its confluence with the Boulder River and Big Timber Creek, near the present-day town of Big Timber, referring to the site as “Rivers Across”. From 1806 to 1850, the only explorers to venture into the area were hunters, trappers, and Indian traders. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 recognized 3.5 million acres, mostly in the Yellowstone region, as Crow territory, including present-day Sweet Grass County. In 1868, the land north of the Yellowstone River (called “Elk River” by the Crow) was ceded to the U.S. Government and the Crow Reservation was established. In 1882, the land west of the Boulder River, and in 1892, the land east of the Boulder River were also ceded. In the late 1860s, the first trail herds from Texas began coming into the area. The 1870s saw the boom of the cattle industry and the range wars in the west. The early cattle companies were large and grazed their cattle on the open range. Prior to the turn of the century, the public domain was controlled by stockmen and early miners until homestead settlement and the establishment of the Forest Reserve System effectively closed the open range. The first stage road traversed the benches on the north bank of the Yellowstone River. A stage-stop situated at the mouth of Big Timber Creek was called Big Timber, after the creek. The year 1882 brought the Northern Pacific railroad into what is now Sweet Grass County. The settlement of Dornix sprang up at the mouth of the Boulder River, with several businesses, including a sawmill and a ferry for crossing the Yellowstone River. However, the railroad decided the site was poor for a stop due to the grade and built a depot on the high bench a mile to the west. Dornix picked up and moved there, and the town of Big Timber was established, named after the abandoned stage stop on the north bank of the
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